May 2010 Newsletter
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News from The Institute for Inclusive Security - May 2010
I. Recent Activities
Inclusive Security Chair Speaks to Future United States Military Commanders (April 2010)
Ambassador Swanee Hunt addressed an audience of more than 1400 at the United States Military Academy at West Point, on the importance of increasing the participation of both civilian and military women in peacekeeping.
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/
8363_west_point_april_2010_speaking_to_america_s_future_commanders.cfm
Consultations with Women Peace Builders from Israel and Palestine (March 2010)
Inclusive Security traveled to Israel and Palestine for consultations to better position women to advocate for a larger voice in negotiations and discussions of security and peacebuilding. Events included meetings with women experts whom Inclusive Security is promoting to participate on formal negotiations teams. A roundtable in Tel Aviv - in cooperation with the Geneva Initiative - convened 20 current and former Members of Knesset, heads of civil society organizations, academics and journalists. In the United States, Inclusive Security worked with UNIFEM to bring members of the International Women's Commission for a Just and Sustainable Israeli-Palestinian Peace to Washington, DC for a series of events and advocacy meetings.
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/8374_israel_update_march_2010.cfm
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/8375_palestine_march_2010.cfm
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/
8396_international_women_s_commission_update_march_2010.cfm
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/
8395_identifying_women_experts_to_participate_
in_israeli_palestinian_peace_negotiations.cfm
First Meeting of the UN Civil Society Advisory Group on Women, Peace and Security (March 2010)
The UN's advisory group on UNSCR 1325 has produced the first in what will be a series of recommendations to the High-Level Steering Committee. One key recommendation is for a ministerial-level conference to take place on October 28, 2010, the day before the Security Council meets to review progress on the resolution. At that time, UN member states and the UN itself would make commitments to specific actions they will take over the next 3-5 years to improve the UN's efforts to increase the role of women in conflict prevention, peacemaking and peacebuilding.
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/
8369_first_meeting_of_un_civil_society_advisory_
group_on_unscr_1325.cfm
http://www.huntalternatives.org/download/
1975_advisory_group_recommendations_on_
10th_anniversary_of_scr_1325_16_april_2010.pdf
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/
8382_members_of_the_civil_society_advisory_
group_to_the_un_on_women_peace_and_security.cfm
Bosnian Women Politicians Design a Strategy to Advance Women’s Participation in Upcoming Elections (February 2010)
Convened by Inclusive Security, 16 of the most powerful women politicians in Bosnia and Hercegovina met for the first time and produced a plan to increase the role of women in elections this summer. The workshop was just one of several actions which Inclusive Security took over the past few months to promote the participation of women in politics in the war-torn country that inspired the 1999 creation of the Women Waging Peace Network.
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/
8359_bosnia_update_may_2010.cfm
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/
8358_bosnia_february_2010_workshop.cfm
Helping Burundi Prepare for 2010 Elections (February 2010)
Under a contract with the UN Development Programme's Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, Inclusive Security traveled to Burundi in February 2010 to support a new national network of 714 women politicians elected at the communal level and to advocate for increased participation of women in the upcoming elections.
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/
8290_helping_burundi_prepare_for_2010_elections.cfm
II. Recent Training
A busy March and April saw Inclusive Security’s training team working with:
III. New Publications
Improving Liberia’s Transitional Justice Process by Engaging Women (April 2010)
Following the 2003 resolution of two decades of violent conflict, the Women NGO’s Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) facilitated a series of regional women-only dialogues around the country to ensure that the voices, concerns, and needs of local women were addressed in the transitional justice process. This publication examines the difference which women made in that transitional justice effort, and suggests key considerations for replicating this success in other countries. (4 pages)
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/
8365_improving_liberia_s_transitional_justice_process_by_engaging_women.cfm
Visit our full list of publications for our Toolkit, policy commission reports, and more:
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/
8049_publications_by_year.cfm
IV. Inclusive Security in the News
Inclusive Security chair Ambassador Swanee Hunt mentioned in an editorial on sexual assault as a weapon of war in The Globe and Mail in May.
Inclusive Security chair Ambassador Swanee Hunt, and Women Waging Peace Network members May Akl, Shabana Fayyaz, Alice Urusaro Karekezi, and The Institute for Inclusive Security featured in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs in April.
Inclusive Security’s Mariam Mansury mentioned in Navy Times in April.
The Institute for Inclusive Security mentioned in The Guatemala Times in March.
V. Upcoming Events
For an up-to-date list of future events, please visit the events page of the Inclusive Security website.
VI. Select News from the Women Waging Peace Network
Click to read the expanded May 2010 update on
the activities of the Network members summarized below.
Cambodia
Mu Sochua was nominated to receive the 8th Annual Global Exchange Human Rights Award as the People’s Choice Award Honoree.
Fiji
Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls helped launch a campaign “to build an international consensus on peacebuilding and the prevention of violent conflict...[and] to strengthen the focus on women's expertise and participation within the field of conflict prevention.”
Iran
Azadeh Faramarziha’s organization was awarded the first Netizen Prize by Reporters Without Borders for a blogger, online journalist or cyber-dissident who has helped to promote freedom of expression on the Internet.
Kenya
Atema Eclai and Mary Okumu contributed their experiences in transitional justice to an Enough Project briefing, "Returning Home: A New Model from Uganda."
Lebanon
May Akl published an article in The Daily Star on "Lebanese Women and the municipal elections."
Liberia
Precious Mitchell will co-teach a course this summer in Washington, DC; and is working on a directory of women in the security sector in Liberia.
Asatu Bah Kenneth is now an assistant minister at the Ministry of Justice.
Nepal
Sushmita Subba Manandhar is the 2010 Andi Parhamovicj Fellow at the National Democratic Institute, where she is conducting research on women’s caucuses around the world.
Pakistan
Mossarat Qadeem participated in a workshop in Jordan on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325; and also presented an update in early May in Washington, DC, on her efforts to combat extremism in Pakistan.
Humaira Shahid mentioned in Epoch Times in April.
Kishwar Sultana is busy advocating to government officials for implementation of recommendations for Pakistan developed at Inclusive Security's 2010 Colloquium.
Sri Lanka
Visaka Dharmadasa’s organization has been busy supporting women to learn skills needed to take up leadership positions in government – an effort that will reach more than 1000 women.
Sudan
Anne Itto was quoted by Bloomberg News for a story on alleged ballot rigging in the recent election in Sudan.
Click to read the expanded May 2010 update on
the activities of the Network members summarized above.
About The Institute for Inclusive Security
The Institute for Inclusive Security uses research, training, and advocacy to promote the inclusion of all stakeholders, particularly women, in peace processes. We work with a global network of well over 1,000 women leaders from more than 40 conflict regions. Our research gives policymakers new strategies to drive inclusion by examining tangible contributions of women peace builders. Our training provides leaders the specialized skills and knowledge to direct local, national, and international peacebuilding. Our advocacy to high-level policymakers promotes change that makes peace processes more broad-based, and thus sustainable.
The Institute for Inclusive Security
2040 S Street NW, Suite 2
Washington DC, 20009
+1.202.403.2000
information@huntalternatives.org
www.InclusiveSecurity.org